Extensible antenna construction



Jan. 1, 1952 E. CARLSON EXTENSIBLE ANTENNA CONSTRUCTION 2 SHEETS-Sl-IEET 1 Filed Jan. 26, 1949 mmfw my wz w fi 5 d I m 5 0 w J E 0 H IrJl WW 2 w 4. r, M H

1952 E. CARLSON 2,580,889

EXTENSIBLE ANTENNA CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 26, 1949 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 INVEN TOR.

E: Mai Y -L Patented Jan. 1, 1952 EXTENSIBLE ANTENNA CONSTRUCTION Emil Carlson, Detroit, Mich., assignor to H. Y. Bassett, 0. D. Marcks, and V. D. Hanna, all of Detroit, Mich.

Application January 26, 1949, Serial No. 72,843

6 Claims. 1 The present invention relates to the construction of extensible and retractable radio aerials, particularly for vehicular installations and other applications where remote control of the action of the mechanism for extending and retracting the aerial is desirable.

An im ortant object of the invention is to provide an improved extensible aerial construction drivable by means of an electric motor and constituting an improvement upon the disclosure of my Patent No. 2,346,728.

A further object is to provide 'such improved driving means including a novel centrifugally applied driving nut construction, a threaded dielectric wire drivable thereby, and improved means for preventing rotation of the wire about its longitudinal axis without preventing longitudinal travel thereof.

An object related to that last stated is to incorporate in such a device improved means for controlling the operation of the driving motor.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon consideration of the present disclosure in its entirety.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic side elevational view of the front portion of a motor vehicle equipped with extensible and retractable aerial means constructed in accordance with the present invention; 4

Figure 2 is a composite view partly in side elevation and partly in vertical section taken substantially upon the line 2-2 of Figure l and looking in the direction of the arrows, with parts broken away;

s Figure 3 is a cross section taken substantially on the line 3--3 of Figure 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 4 is a sectional view upon an enlarged scale taken substantially on the line 4-4 of Figure 3 and looking in the direction of the arrows, but with the actuating wire removed;

Figures 5 and 6 are fragmentary views taken substantially on the lines 55 and 6-6, respectively, of Figure 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows; Y

Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially on the line 1-4 of Figure 6 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 8 is a fragmentary elevational view of a modified construction; and

Figure 9 is a cross section taken substantially on the line 99 of Figure 8 and looking in the direction of the arrowsq Referring now to the drawings, reference character I0 designates generally a closed motor vehicle body having a front fender portion 12, which may conveniently be made to serve as a support and enclosure for my improved antenna construction. The antenna proper consists of a plurality of rigid tubular or telescopically interfitted and slidable sections l4, l5 and Hi which are largely concealed within the fender when the antenna is retracted. The outer antenna tube I6 is supported by and slidably movable into and from a fixed supporting and contact tube 11, while the middle section l5 and inner section M are in turn slidably fitted in outer section Hi. All of such parts are carried by a housing tube 18 of substantially larger diameter and which may be formed of aluminum tubing.

At its upper end, the housing tube I8 is connected as by screw means 20 to a tubular metallic neckpiece 22 fitted in the upper end of the tube i8 and projecting a relatively short distance thereinto. An upper portion 24 of the neckpiece is of reduced diameter and is adapted to project upwardly through an opening as 25 in the fender l2or other supporting body portion, a portion of the upper end of the neckpiece portion 24 being externally threaded as indicated at 26 to receive a domed cap nut 28 which has a central opening 30 therein, substantially larger than the outer antenna section Hi. The fixed contact supporting tube I1 surrounds and slidably supports the outer antenna section [6 and a spring wire contact brush [9 provides continuous electrical connection between the antenna sections and the tube l1. Tube [1 also projects through and above nut 28, as also does an insulating sleeve portion 32. Sleeve portion 32 extends downwardly through the interior of the neck portion 24 to insulate the antenna assembly and contact tube I! from the housing tube and neck portions. A cylindrical filler block portion 34 which may be molded or otherwise formed integrally with the bushing 32 substantially fills and projects downwardly within the enlarged lower portion 22 of the neckpiece and the upper extremityof the housing tube I8. The shoulder 35 formed at the juncture of the reduced neck portion 24 with the enlarged bottom portion 22 of the neckpiece serves as an abutment and support for a cupped sheet metal filler member 36, the upper edge of which is contoured to fit against the interior of the fender. A tubular filler piece 38 is also fitted upon the neck portion 24 above the fender and beneath the nut 28 and contouredto conform to the top of the 3 fender. The joint between the filler 38 and the fender may be sealed by a gasket pad as 49.

At its lower extremity, the housing tube It is attached as by screws 42 to an insulating partition and supporting disc 44 which projects upwardly a slight distance into the lower end of the tube !8. The tube 18 is also attached to a substantially coaxial and cylindrical sheet metal casing 45 of greater diameter than the tube.

A guide tube 29 which may be formed of plastic is supported by and between block 34 and disc 54 in axial position surrounding the outer aerial section 5, which is slidable therein. The upper end of casing 45 is necked inwardly to .provide a collar it which projects between tube 19 and disc id. Casing portion 45 serves as a housing for a centrifugal driving nut assembly and is driving motor generally designated 48.

The details of the motor are not illustrated,

since they form no part of my invention. The motor 48 is rigidly attached to casing 45 and the motor shaft 54 is concentric with housing tube 18. The lower end of the motor housing is preferably supported by a sheet metal bracket 59 attached by bolt means 52 to the bottom flange of the fender.

The armature shaft 54 of the motor is tubular, the axial passage therethrough being designated 10. An externally threaded actuating wire is attached to the inner section M of the aerial and extends downwardly through casing and tubular shaft 54, being slidable in such parts. The upper end of the tubular shaft 54 projects into the casing 45, and a rotatable cage 55 is secured to the shaft within the casing 45 as by. means of the setscrew 56. Cage 55 is rotatablev by the motor 48 which is energizable by current deliveredthrough the lead wires 58. The cage 55 is substantially cylindrical and provided with an axial opening 59 through which ,the wire freely extends. A horizontal diametric channel 69 in cage 55 extends entirely therethrough and intersects axial opening 59 perpendicularly. Channel 5|]v may be of square cross section. In the channel 60 are a pair of slidable centrifugal flyweight portions 62, 64 of similar construction but symmetrically opposed in arrangement. Each flyweight portion includes an integral con necting arm as 65,. 66. The arms55, 66 extend transversely across and on opposite sides of the wire 15 but are free of the wire. ing arm 65, 66 carries a half nut section as 12, 14. and each such nut section extends inwardly to overlie the opposite side of the wire from that occupied by the integral flyweight section to which it is connected by its appurtenant arm.

The externally threaded wire I5 may be formed of a flexible insulating plastic material such as nylon and extends slidably through the channel 10 in the armature shaft and between the nut sections l2, 14, the upper end or the wire being rigidly secured to the central antenna section Id. In the shown construction, the central antenna section is asolid rod having a sleeve 89 secured to and projecting downwardly a short;

distance below the lower end thereof and defin ing a socket for reception of the upper end of the wire 75, which is fitted partially thereinto, the

sleeve being formed inwardly to grip the wire. Each of the tubular antenna sections l5, It is flanged inwardly at its upper extremity, as also is the tube 11, the inwardly flanged portions be ing indicated at 16. ll and 18. All of the antenna sections are also enlarged at their-flower Each connect 1 tube 90 upon each side of the wire.

der portions 95, 96 may be employed to actuate:

ends, the enlargement of the inner rod section It being formed by the sleeve 80, while the tubular sections [5, l6 may be swaged outwardly at their lower extremities as indicated at 8| and 82. When the antenna sections are fully projected, flange 16 and sleeve 89 serve as stops limiting upward travel of the section l4, portions 11,9! serve as stops limiting upward travel of the section l5, and portions i8, 32 limit upward movement of section I6.

-The opposed inwardly directed faces of the nut sections 12. 14 are provided with complemental channels, the surfaces of which are formed with mutilated teeth as 85, of tapered and-rounded contour proportioned to threadedly interengage-the'external threads formed upon the wire 15 when the nut sections are moved inwardly toward one another and against the wire.- The threads on the wire are also of tapered and rounded form.

When the nut assembly is rotated by the motor, the flyweight sections 62, 6d tend to move apart under the effect of centrifugal force and urge the nut sections I2, 14 inwardly against the wire and, by reason of the threaded engagement between such nut sections and the threads of the wire, the wire is moved longitudinally through the motor to drive the antenna section I4, the wire being held against rotating about its axis. Since the nut sections are only driven against the wire by centrifugal force, they are easily moved apart if longitudinal effort is exerted upon the antenna section Hi, the nut sections being then cammed apart because of the tapered and rounded contour of the threads, so that the antenna can be moved by hand without damaging the mechanism.

The open lower end of the armature shaft is exposed through a concentric opening (undesignated) in the bracket 59, and the threaded wire 15 extends therefrom and is slidable in a keying and guide tube which is somewhat flattened throughout the greater proportion of its length, as shown cross-sectionally in Figure 6. The wire 15 slides easily in the tube 99 and the wire is of such length that a portion thereof remains in the fiat section of the tube 90 when all of the antenna sections are fully extended.

A sheet metalclip 92 is attached to the outer end of the wire. The clip 92 may be formed of a short section of metal tubing which is flattened to engage the wire and in the flattening is formed to such proportions that it will slide easily in the tube 90, but cannot rotate therein. Integral tongues as 94 may be pierced and bent inwardly from the body of the clip 92 in the application of the clip to the wire, the tongues,

being pointed and adapted to penetrate the wire to positively lock the clip thereupon.

In the flattened dimension, the clip 92 is of substantially greater diameter than the wire 15 when applied thereto, as best shown in Figure 6,

so that the laterally projecting portions of the clip define shoulders as 95, 95, lying within the The shoullimit switches as 98, Hill, adapted to control the energization of the driving motor 48. Each limit switch is shown as a housing having a button portion as 192 projecting through a slot as I94 in the tube 90 and slidable longitudinally of thetube to actuate the switch. The detailed mechanism of the switches is not herein considered since it forms no part of my invention. 7 I The ac i it es swite ibutmne as. .92 a esqmewhat longer in the longitudinal dimension than the spacing between or pitch of the threads on the wire I5, and the inner ends of the buttons are smooth, so that the threads of the wire cannot catch on the buttons and actuate them. The limit switches are arranged at positions corresponding to the limits of desired antenna travel and so connected in the motor circuit as to break the circuit and stop the motor when the desired limit is reached. The manner of connection of such limit switches is well known in the art and will need no detailed description.

It will be appreciated that the wire 15, being of fiexible character, the tube 90 may be bent to curved form if desired and/or to any desired configuration to facilitate installation of the aerial. The outer end of the tube 00 is preferably sealed against the entrance of dust, although the lower end of'the motor casing 48 may be provided with openings as indicated at I05, so that if any water finds its way into the inside of the antenna housing, it may fiow downwardly through the internally connected housing portions I8, 45 and through the motor casing 48 and thence outwardly through the openings I05.

The lead-in connection to the antenna may be made in any convenient or desired manner. A lead-in cable I06 is shown attached by a ferrule nut I08 to a nipple IIO formed upon the side of the neck portion 22 and projecting through a slot H2 in the upper end of the housing tube I8. A terminal portion I I4 of the lead-in cable is thereby held in electrically conductive engagement with contact tube I8.

In the modified construction shown in Figures 8 and 9, parts analogous to those already described are designated by like reference characters distinguished by the addition of the letter a, and many of such corresponding parts will require no detailed redescription.

The open lower end of the tubular armature shaft 54a (Figure 8) is exposed below the bracket 50a. and the actuating wire a extends therefrom into and is slidable in a guide tube 90a which also serves to prevent rotation of the wire about its longitudinal axis. The guide tube is connected to the lower end of the motor casing by suitable coupling means as 92a in such position that the wire may slide freely into and out of the tube. and at one or more points along its length a bend is formed in the tube, as indicated at I and I22. The tube and wire are of round cross section and the bends I20, I22 are smoothly curved to permit easy sliding of the wire. The wire is effectively restrained against rotation about its longitudinal axis by the bends, since in order to twist the wire to turn it about its axis, it would be necessary, in effect, to rebend it in the curved area. The wire 15a is long enough so that even when the aerial assembly is fully extended a part of the wire lies within the curved portion I20 of the tube, and the wire is thereby held against rotation while it is moved longitudinally under the influence of the driving nut assembly.

While it will be apparent that the preferred embodiment of the invention herein disclosed is well calculated to fulfill the objects above stated, it will be appreciated that the invention is susceptible to modification, variation and change without departing from the proper scope or fair meaning of the subj oined claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Means for longitudinally actuating an extensible rigid member such as a radio antenna comprising a flexible elongated externally threaded wire-like actuating element adapted to be mechanically connected to such an antenna, a cooperatively threaded driving nut structure engaging the threads of said element and rotatable to actuate the same, and means for preventing rotation of said element about its longitudinal axis comprising a longitudinally curved guide tube in which said element is slidably fitted.

2. Actuating means for a slidable rigid member such as an antenna including an externally threaded flexible wire-like actuating element, driving nut means threadedly engaging said element, and housing and keying means for preventing rotation of said element about its longitudinal axis comprising a tube within which said element is slidable, said tube having an integral longitudinally extending flattened portion, and a keying portion carried by said element and slidably engageable with such flattened portion of the tube.

3. Actuating means for a slidable rigid member such as an antenna including an elongated flexible actuating element including a portion carried thereby which is of noncircular cross section, said element being adapted to be mechanically connected to such an aerial, a driving member engageable with the exterior of said elements to move the same longitudinally, and means for preventing unwanted twisting of said element about its longitudinal axis comprising a guide tube within which said element is slidably but nonrotatably fitted, the cross-sectional contour of said guide tube substantially corresponding to the cross-sectional contour of said noncircular portion.

4. Actuating means for a slidable rigid member such as an antenna including an externally threaded flexible elongated actuating element, driving means threadedly engaging said element, and housing and keying means for preventing rotation of said element about its longitudinal axis comprising a tube within which said element is slidable, and complementarily contoured noncircular keying portions carried partly by said actuating element and partly by said tube.

5. Means as set forth in claim 2 in which said keying portion comprises an abutment member extending laterally of said actuating element within said tube to define abutment shoulders.

6. Means as set forth in claim 2 in which said keying portion comprises a partially flattened sleeve fitted over said element, the initial internal diameter of the sleeve exceeding the outside diameter of said element whereby when the sleeve is flattened a portion thereof is moved outwardly to project laterally from said element to define an abutment shoulder.

EMJL CARLSON.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Carlson Apr, 18, 1944 Number 

